Protoform
by Skittles Vampire
Summary: Just yesterday, if you asked Cliffjumper how he would picture his future family, he might say he would expect to be bonded to a femme and have a few sparklings...but something has changed and his whole world is turned upside down. Mirage/Cliffjumper.
1. Chapter 1

"Primus, I still can't believe this is happening…" Mirage vented, looking guiltily over at Cliffjumper, who glared.

"What are _you_ complaining about, Towers?" he snarled. "_I'm _the one suffering! I swear, if I wasn't carrying, I'd-"

" Cliffjumper." Ratchet warned. " That's enough. Try not to stress."

" Try not to stress! " Cliffjumper cried. " How can I not stress ! This wasn't supposed to happen! Especially not like this!"

" You think this is what I wanted, you pint sized -!"

" Shut off!" Ratchet yelled. " Both of you!"

" I'm sorry." Mirage groaned, holding his helm. He turned away.

" I'm not." Cliffjumper fumed, lying back on the berth.

" Look…" Ratchet vented " Scrap happens. Neither of you wanted this…I have no idea why you two ever sparked in the first place, but-"

" Me neither, Ratchet…" Mirage vented " We were both overcharged…."

" Well, either way, you've got a protoform on your hands." Ratchet finished. " Now… you have a few options here…I can abort the carrying process, thus killing it -"

" No!" Both Mirage and Cliffjumper shouted.

Ratchet smiled weakly and nodded.

" Glad you agree. That narrows it down some… You only have one other option. Wait for it. Assemble it, and raise it."

They were quiet for a long while.

" I'll do it." Mirage said slowly.

" Cliffjumper?" Ratchet asked.

" I…" Cliffjumper frowned " I need to think…about it."

" Take your time." Ratchet nodded.

" Wh-What would you do, Ratchet?"

" I'd raise it…" he vented. " But, I'm not you."

Cliffjumper looked from Ratchet to Mirage and vented heavily.

" I…I'll raise it."

Ratchet nodded.

"Good choice."

The three were silent once more, longer now.

" Primus hates me." Cliffjumper sighed, burying his helm in his hands. "This is not how it should be! I should be out there right now on guard duty! Last night shouldn't have happened!…Slag it! Why wasn't Mirage the carrier!"

Ratchet frowned, looking at the two mechs, both of them looking utterly depressed.

" There are no words to describe how much I hate you !" Cliffjumper screamed at Mirage. Mirage turned away and braced himself against a neighbouring berth, he looked like he was going to purge his tanks.

" Mirage?" Ratchet asked, " Are you alright?"

Mirage nodded slowly.

" Why don't you go lay down ?"

Mirage made a noise, turning invisible, Ratchet heard him run from the room.

" Coward!" Cliffjumper called after him.

"Cliffjumper," Ratchet warned " You'll be sorry for treating him like that."

" I don't think so, Doc." Cliffjumper growled " I hate him. I hate everything about him. I always have, I always will. Even more so now."

" Why?" Ratchet asked, sitting down on the edge of the berth.

" None of your business." Cliffjumper`s optics glowed.

" Yes it is." Ratchet argued. " I'm a med-bot. It's in my programming to make sure you're healthy. Both physically _and _mentally."

" Slag off. " Cliffjumper snarled.

" Fine, be that way." Ratchet vented. " Of course, talking about it would probably relieve an enormous amount of stress from your system, which would not only benefit you, but the protoform as well…but, what do I know…I'm only a slagging med-bot."

" Alright! " Cliffjumper said in exasperation. " Primus, If you want to be nosy about it, I'll talk about it!"

" Good." Ratchet half smiled. " Now lets try this again. Cliffjumper, why do you hate Mirage?"

" He's a fragger."

Ratchet frowned.

" Why do you say that?"

" I don't trust him."

" Why not ?"

" Because I don't."

" Please, Cliffjumper, try to cooperate with me."

" Alright…but you'll just side with him, like everyone else does! He's a slagging traitor, I know he is!"

" You're so sure?" Ratchet frowned.

" Of course I am! " Cliffjumper snorted. " Either that or he's a spy! And this…" he indicated his midriff, where his carrying chamber was. " This is his idea of punishment! I'm the only one that knows about him! He knew full well what he was doing to me last night! "

Ratchet stared at the minibot.

" An interesting theory."

" It's not a theory! it's -"

" But, there's a few flaws in it. Tell me, Cliffjumper…if he thought interfacing with you would turn out like this, then explain his behaviour just now. "

" He's a slagging good actor." Cliffjumper vented.

" Why would he risk becoming a carrier just to punish you?"

" He probably blocked his ports somehow, so my cables couldn't interface properly."

" That's medically impossible." Ratchet shook his helm. " In order for a protoform to form, both creators must be plugged into each other fully. The first one to overload becomes the carrier. If what you're saying is true, Mirage took a very big chance. He could have reached overload at any time during interfacing. "

" Really?" Cliffjumper stared, dumbstruck at the medic.

" Of course, Primus, Cliffjumper…younglings younger than Bumblebee know that!" Ratchet paused. " Cliffjumper, if you don't mind me asking, how much education have you had?"

" Enough." he said, looking away. " The Decepticons shut down my school and turned it into a base when I was pretty young, but I learned enough."

" What did you learn about…"

" I learned slag all about interfacing." Cliffjumper answered. " We didn't get that far in school. My creators were always too busy fighting the Decepticons to talk about it…then they died…But, of course I picked up on how to do it. "

" So you learned nothing about what it meant to carry a protoform…"

" No…Primus, I'd never expected to be carrying one…"

" The last problem with your theory, Cliffjumper…In order for a protoform to form, the creators also need to spark. Do you know that that means, Cliffjumper ?"

Cliffjumper shook his helm.

" I've heard the term before…I'm guessing it has something to do with sparks touching? You're saying Mirage and I did that? "

" Yes. It only happens when your body decides it's found it's perfect match. "

" Mirage and I ? Perfect matches! Slag! How is that even possible!"

" I don't know. Ask yourself, it's your body after all. Anyway, each of the creators give half their spark to their partner."

" Half my spark is gone!" Cliffjumper cried.

" Not _gone gone. " Ratchet reassured him. " It's in Mirage's spark and half of his spark is in yours."_

_Cliffjumper looked down at his chest, where his spark chamber was located._

" _You can interface all you want, but, only spark with one cybertronian in your whole life, Cliffjumper. That one cybertronian is called your bondmate. Mirage is your bondmate. " _

" _Slag…this is worse than I thought…" Cliffjumper shivered " The only protoform I'll ever have…is his?" _

"_The only protoform you'll ever have…that is if you decide not to spark with him again. "_

"_Slag…" he held his helm._

" _Now, I ask you, if Mirage was sober last night, why would he sacrifice such an important thing and take such a big risk all to punish you? Even if that was his plan he would have no idea that you two where compatible enough to spark. It doesn't sit right with your logic circuits, does it?"_

" _Okay, so we were both overcharged…but that doesn't mean he's not a traitor."_

"_Believe what you want, Cliffjumper. But, you're his bondmate. As the bond grows older, stronger, you'll start to feel what he feels. Pain, pleasure, happiness, sadness…whatever he's feeling, you'll feel it too. Think about it next time you call him a traitor."_

" _Ratchet…if what you just told me about protoforms is true…then the Dinobots..…then you and Wheeljack-"_

_Ratchet's optics glowed._

" _I think it's time we discussed your dietary needs while carrying." he interrupted, changing the subject." You're only going to be refuelling on mid-grade energon for now. Strictly no high-grade or low-grade until the protoform is out, only mid-grade or med-grade is okay. Alright, now that were clear on that, I have to go find Mirage. Goodbye." he waved hastily and ran out of the room._


	2. Chapter 2

Cliffjumper smirked slightly, it almost seemed like he and Ratchet were in the same boat…

He hopped off the berth…wincing slightly as a joint squeaked…he'd have to get that oiled. He felt slightly better about this whole thing, he had a plan…he knew how it happened. What bothered him was why it happened and who it happened with. His tanks were low…he'd stop by the rec room and grab a cube of mid-grade, just like the med-bot ordered. He stepped out into the corridor. Suddenly a wave of grief swept over him, guilt, fear…he wanted to be with Mirage, to tell him it was alright, he wasn't hurt, to hold him, to be held. Then as quickly as it had begun, it was over. Cliffjumper clung to the doorframe for support. Was that what Ratchet meant ? Were those Mirage's emotions? He hadn't expected them to be so strong…well, he'd been warned, hadn't he? He shook his helm and headed for the rec room.

" Cliffjumper!" He froze and turned around.

" You've missed two full shifts of guard duty! " Prowl said irately. " I had to put Gears, Hound, Bumblebee _and _Bluestreak on extra shifts because you didn't show up! To make matters worse, Mirage skipped out as well! That means _I _had to take on an extra shift myself and give Ironhide, Brawn, and Jazz extra shifts! Do you know how badly you two rearranged our shift schedule! The only way we can compensate is to have both of you take on triple guard duty this afternoon. If you see Mirage- "

" I'm on medical leave, Prowl…" Cliffjumper explained.

" Medical leave!" Prowl cried in exasperation. " No, you're not! "

" Yes, I am." Cliffjumper frowned. They'd requested that nobody be informed that he was carrying. Of course the medical staff knew, purely for safety…Prime probably knew as well. But, nobody had told Prowl. He braced himself for the barrage of questions he knew was coming.

" Why? You were perfectly fine yesterday! You didn't sustain any injuries that I've heard about!"

" I just am. Even ask Ratchet."

" I will. " his optics glowed.

" He's not in med-bay." Cliffjumper said.

" Oh?" Prowl stopped, "Where is he?"

" He just left to go check up on Mirage."

Prowl's face fell.

" Don't tell me _he's _on med leave as well…"

" I don't think so."

" Good. I need to chat with him about the importance of showing up for guard duty as well." he vented, " Incidentally, how long will you be on med leave?"

Cliffjumper vented…he had to tell him or he would never stop nagging him.

" Prowl…can we talk? Alone?"

" Is med-bay empty ? " Prowl vented.

Cliffjumper nodded.

" Then yes, but we can't chat for too long. I have things to do."

The two mechs entered the room.

" Okay…what?" Prowl asked.

" You can't tell anyone. Not a spark."

"Alright…" Prowl tilted his head.

"I'm carrying." he vented. Prowl made a noise.

" I'm sorry…what? It sounded like you said -"

" I'm carrying."

" That's what I thought you said." Prowl frowned. " How did -?" Prowl froze. "Mirage?" he asked.

Cliffjumper nodded slowly.

" Primus…when did you two -?"

" Last night, by accident."

" I don't know whether to congratulate you or express my condolences…" Prowl vented, putting a hand on the minibot's shoulder. " Well, all I can say is good luck and thank you for telling me. I'll have to re-organize the whole shift order …" he frowned and left med bay. Cliffjumper made his way to the rec room. He drained a cube of mid grade before Hound noticed him.

" Hey , Cliffjumper! Why weren't you on duty this morning? It tell you, Prowl is not happy with you. Neither is Gears for that matter. Brawn and I didn't mind the extra shift, but Gears wouldn't shut up." He winced. " Have you seen Mirage anywhere? From what Prowl says, he wasn't on duty either."

" He's with Ratchet, Prowl's gone to see him too."

"Primus…is something wrong? You two weren't fighting again, were you!" Hound asked.

" Uh…yeah. Fighting." Cliffjumper said distractedly, he was being hit with another wave of Mirage's emotions…still feeling guilty, afraid…he wanted to be with him, right now, badly.

" Cliffjumper!" Someone touched his arm.

He shook his helm, he was halfway out the door.

" Are you alright, Cliffjumper? I just stared talking about Mirage and you started walking away…"

" Uh…sorry Hound. I need to see him…"

" Who? Mirage? "

"Yeah…" Cliffjumper frowned up at Hound's confused expression. " I need to…apologize…to him."

" Apologize?" Hound furrowed his metallic brow. " You're sure you're feeling okay, Cliffjumper? That's not like you…"

" Yeah. I'm fine."

" I'll go with you."

" Erm…Thanks, Hound, but-"

" I'm worried about you."

" Don't be…I'm just a little…" he searched for the right word " Uh…off today."

" That's exactly what I mean." Hound frowned, following him. " Do you even know where Mirage is?"

" He'd be in his quarters." Cliffjumper said, without thinking. He frowned, how had he known that?

" If you say so…" Hound shrugged. " By the way…how are you two feeling after last night?"

Cliffjumper stopped.

" I- What!" he grimaced, his spark beating in this chest. Did Hound know ? How had he found out?

" Hm." Hound shrugged, "Just a question. No need to get all defensive about it."

" I'm not getting defensive!" Cliffjumper growled, beginning to get irritated.

" Really ?" Hound asked teasingly. " My quarters _are next to Mirage's, you know. At first I thought you were fighting…but you stared making weird noises…"_

" _You can't tell anybody!" Cliffjumper said urgently, under his breath._

" _Don't worry." Hound grinned " Your secret's safe with me. It's kind of weird though. I thought you guys were enemies…" they continued walking, the corridors were empty ahead of them._

" _We were overcharged…" He groaned._

" _Aww…so it's not gonna last ?" He chuckled. " That's too bad."_

" _Well, Hound…not really, but it can't exactly end either."_

" _Eh?"_

" _We sparked…I'm carrying."_

" _You're joking! You bonded!"_

"_Shh!" Cliffjumper looked around nervously._

" _Congrats!"_

" _This is hardly a time to be congratulating me." Cliffjumper snarled. " I didn't want this…I'm bonded with a traitor! I hate him, Hound! You know I do! But-"_

" _The bond's making you start to like him?" _

" _Not like him so much as want him around all the time…" He vented. " I hate it…I hate this whole idea!"_

"_Well, you're looking at it the wrong way…" Hound said optimistically. " The way I see it, even if you and Mirage don't get to liking each other all that much, you're still permanently aware of each other's feelings…"_

" _That's an upside?" Cliffjumper snorted. " Could've fooled me."_

" _Alright, fair enough, that may not always be pleasant…but, that protoform…"_

" _What about it ? "_

" _It'll be the first of a new generation of Autobots!" Hound grinned " You and Mirage, however reluctantly, just helped rebuild our race!"_

" _Yeah…I guess…" Cliffjumper frowned " But that could've waited until I found someone else."_

" _Only a handful of bots are able to bond properly, Cliffjumper. And Some of them are Decepticons. Just be glad you found Mirage."_

" _Right…" Cliffjumper frowned. " Hound…do you have a bondmate?"_

" _I did." he frowned. "Then the Decepticons got her. I know they terminated her…the last thing I felt over the bond was great fear, then nothing else." He looked down at Cliffjumper, " But I can't do anything now…for Primus's sake, Cliffjumper…be nice to Mirage…you never know when something's gonna happen."_

_They came to a stop just outside of Mirage's quarters._


	3. Chapter 3

Hound knocked. "Mirage…It's me, Hound. Cliffjumper's with me."

Prowl answered the door.

" We thought you'd be here soon." he commented. " Mirage is a wreck."

Hound frowned and opened his mouth to say something.

" Not literally." Prowl vented.

" Oh good…or…not good?"

" Good he's not an actual wreck, bad that he's an emotional one." Prowl explained, letting them in.

" He's in shock…I don't blame him…" Ratchet told them. " We've had a lot of time to talk, unfortunately, he hasn't said much, we're just trying to calm him down. It probably isn't best for you to be -Cliffjumper! What the slag are you-!"

" He's my bondmate." Cliffjumper said. " He wants me with him. I can feel it." He walked towards the blue and white mech.

Prowl took a step forward, as though he was going to scoop Cliffjumper up and take him away, but Ratchet stopped him. Mirage sat on his berth in silence, staring off into space. Cliffjumper could practically hear Mirage's spark beating as he drew closer. He remembered the last time he'd been in this room…it was just him and Mirage…angry words were exchanged…light punches too…Now it was all different. Both of them now fully understanding what had happened between them and what they were going to do about it.

" Listen, Mirage…" Cliffjumper started, hopping onto the berth and sitting beside him. Mirage didn't look at him. " I didn't ask for this…neither did you." Mirage groaned. " But, regardless of what we want…it's happening." He looked up at him. " We've got to deal with this like mechs…" Mirage didn't say anything.

" I need your help, Mirage…I mean, sparklings don't raise themselves…"

Still nothing.

" Listen, you big, selfish, no-good-!"

"Cliffjumper!" He heard Ratchet warn.

Cliffjumper frowned and looked back at the three mechs by the door. Ratchet shrugged and shook his helm.

Cliffjumper vented, he didn't want to have to resort to this…he clung to Mirage's arm…he blue and white mech's helm snapped in his direction.

" I don't blame you." he lied. " I blame the energon."

" Somehow…somehow I doubt that, Cl- Cliffjumper." Mirage said slowly.

Cliffjumper let go. Mirage made a choking noise.

" I'm sorry…Cliffjumper…" he sniffed. " I didn't mean…I didn't know…"

Cliffjumper yelled as the larger mech sniffed loudly and picked him up. Before Cliffjumper knew what was happening, they were hugging each other. Cliffjumper felt like some sort of living teddy bear in Mirage's arms…it was annoying and embarrassing. But, actually sort of…nice…in an odd way. Cliffjumper shut off his optics…maybe if he did, he'd forget who he was with and just enjoy the feeling of being held. He leaned against Mirage's armour and vented.

" It's okay, Mirage…it'll all be okay."

" Y' know, Cliffjumper? You're not so bad. You can be downright nice when you want to be."

" Yeah, well don't get used to it. I've only stayed here this long because you're comfy."

" Comfy?" Mirage chuckled. " I don't think I've ever been described that way before…"

" Cue the bondmate instincts…" Hound laughed.

Mirage finally let Cliffjumper down.

" Just because we're bondmates doesn't mean we'll ever interface again." Cliffjumper said sternly.

Mirage laughed.

" Thank Primus."

" I take it everyone feels better?" Ratchet asked.

" Yeah." Mirage vented.

" So, do you guys want to tell the rest of the crew?" Prowl asked.

" Primus, no!" Cliffjumper yelled.

"Why not ?" Ratchet asked. "The way you two were carrying on over there, they're all bound to notice eventually."

"Yeah and I bet the guys would be happy for a bit of good news!" Hound ageed.

Cliffjumper frowned and looked at Mirage hopefully.

" I don't see why not…" he said.

" No!" Cliffjumper repeated.

" Why not?" Prowl asked.

" It's …embarrassing and they don't need to know until…"

" What? Until you have your protoform?" Ratchet asked " You're due in a couple of weeks anyway…it won't take long for the protoform to develop…it's essentially just a spark in a ball with arms and legs."

" I…fine." Cliffjumper vented. " We'll tell them tomorrow though. I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired."

Ratchet nodded. The four mechs left for their own quarters. By this time, corridors were all empty except for a few bots who had the night shifts.

" Sideswipe, Sunstreaker…" Cliffjumper nodded, passing the two, who nodded back. He rounded a corner, his quarters weren't far now. Finally he reached his door and unlocked it. He lay down on his berth and vented. He could here music faintly in the background, it sounded like it came from an old black-and-white sci-fi movie…Bluestreak had probably fallen asleep with that TV of his still on. Cliffjumper sat up and looked down at his midriff.

" Well. Goodnight, protoform…" he paused. What was he doing? The thing was only conceived yesterday…it didn't even have audio receptors yet…even if it did, it wouldn't be able to hear him. He grunted and powered down for the night.


End file.
